Staff Editor — Page 102

It’s All In The Approach- Loss Prevention Seminars

March 11, 2014 by Staff Editor

Let’s face it; your employees are probably going to be more aware of employee theft before you are. If you are not approachable, your current employees may not feel comfortable coming to you with information about a theft situation.

You don’t have to be jaded from past experiences to not be viewed as approachable. Sometimes, employees who are privy to employee theft happening in the store simply do not know what to do with the information. By providing a new outlet for communication, you have a better chance of eliminating or responding quickly to these instances of theft.

It might be time to participate in some loss prevention training. They will help you come to terms with your past theft issues. They will also be able to help broach the subject with your current employees. Loss prevention seminars are designed to open up the lines of communication.

Loss prevention seminars give you ideas of how to start talking to your employees about employee theft. Just because you have seen employees steal during your career, doesn’t mean your other employees have to. Many are in disbelief that theft actually happens, much less believing that it can happen in their store by people they know.

Once these employees know that can happen even in their store, they will now know what to do with that information.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

Once these employees know that can happen even in their store, they will now know what to do with that information.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

Filed Under: Seminar Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, shoplifting

What Are My Options – Bottle Security

March 10, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

After making the decision to use a bottle lock as your primary source of bottle security it is time to narrow down which product will be best suited to your needs. There are a few styles of Alpha Security Bottle Locks to choose from. Each one has its own advantages based on its application within you store.

The metal bottle wrap is probably the most basic of bottle locks. It is just a simple metal band that wraps around the neck of a bottle. While it does not provide product denial, it does provide a visual deterrent against shoplifting. The biggest advantage is that the wrap will not damage any outside coverings. This is important for champagne bottles that have the metal/ foil covering over the cork.

Next is the bottle cap style of bottle locks. Tough, durable and reliable, this lock is attached directly on the top of the bottle. It provides product denial, as a shoplifter or underage drinker cannot remove the cap of the bottle to sample the contents inside.

Lastly is the EASy Bottle Crystal Guarde. Where the bottle cap is more utilitarian in design, this bottle lock has a smaller profile and a sleeker look. It is perfect for a more high-end display. The smaller design also makes it easier to maximize shelf quantities while providing the same bottle security to detract shoplifters and unauthorized sampling.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Security Tagged With: Alpha Security, bottle lock, bottle locks, bottle security, easy bottle, liquor bottle security

The Other Side of Training – Clothing Security

March 10, 2014 by Staff Editor

When you conduct loss prevention training, how far are you taking it? There are several main parts when you train your employees about your store’s clothing security and the clothing alarm system.

The first part is the technical side of things. You have to teach your employees how to use the system. Show them what happens when clothing security tags come too close to the exit doors. How close can you get before the clothing alarm goes off? It is important to know that customers can be shopping close by with no intention of exiting the store and still set an alarm off. They also need to know how close to the doors they can merchandise product with clothing security tags or they will set off false alarms all day long.

Your employees also need to know that Checkpoint tags need to be removed. Just passing them over the deactivator pads cannot deactivate the tags. The soft labels, on the other hand need to be passed over the deactivator pads, but there is a field in which they need to pass. If the cashier is not putting them over the pad within the designated field the clothing alarm will go off.

Clothing security training is not just about putting security tags on clothes. It is about how the system works as a whole and the role your employees play in making sure it is working as it should.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Checkpoint Tags, a Clothing Alarm, Clothing Security or Clothing Security Tags to put Security Tags on Clothes and an Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Checkpoint tags, clothing security, clothing alarm, or clothing security tags how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at security tags on clothes or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Checkpoint tags, clothing alarm, Clothing Security, clothing security tags, security tags on clothes

The Generation X Effect – Employee Background Checks

March 9, 2014 by Staff Editor

Who is Generation X and why do we care what they are doing? Well, they are roughly the part of the current workforce that is between about 35-55 years old. We all know better than to hire or not hire someone based on their age, but it is important to be mindful of what this sector of the workforce is about. Once we know what they are doing, it will become even clearer why there is a need to consistently run an employee background check.

According to a recent poll about 44% of all jobs are held by a Generation Xer. Of those, 53% are completely disengaged and an additional 19% are so unhappy at their jobs they feel the need to make everyone else around them miserable too.

With that kind of statistic, it makes you wonder why you would even want to take a risk and hire a Generation X employee. Well the answer is simple. That age range is the section of employees that have had ample time to get their college education – this includes Master’s and Ph D levels. They are also the ones that have years of experience in their field, but still might take a job for less money.

The flip side is that once hired, these employees tend to become very unhappy. That makes them more likely to perform poorly, or even starts to cross lines into employee theft.

Pre-employment screening and employee background checks help evaluate your potential risk. It can uncover high frequencies in job changes and possibly a trend that they might be leaving jobs quickly due to theft or other job related investigations.

To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, background check experts, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, pre employment screening

An Expansion Pack – Retail Anti-Theft Devices

March 9, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Alpha Security is an industry leader for retail anti-theft devices. One of the reasons why they stand out among other companies whose products prevent shoplifting is their ability to expand.

Your store probably has started out with a basic EAS system. You use towers at the entrance/ exit doors and Alpha 3 alarm retail anti-theft devices on your merchandise.

Now that some time has passed, the thieves (shoplifters or employees) are starting to get creative in how they steal from your store. They might try to take merchandise into the restrooms or out of the back stock room. It is no longer as simple as protecting your main exit doors.

Since you already have the Alpha 3 alarm products in place, it is easy to expand out and start using the Alpha Security Alpha Nano Gate in these alternative exit points.

The small design is the perfect fit for back exits and restrooms. The Alpha Nano Gate has a visible indicator light so passers by know that it is working. There is also a battery backup that prevents the system from being tampered with.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store for Alpha 2Alarm, Alpha 3Alarm, Alpha Fashion2, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Shark Tag, Alpha Spider Wrap and other retail anti-theft devices from Alpha Security to use in conjunction with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system that can help you prevent shoplifting in your business.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 3 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha Fashion2, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Shark Tag, Alpha Spider Wrap, Fashion2, Jewel Lok, Nano Gate, Prevent Shoplifting, Shark Tag, Spider Wrap

The Master Pack – Internal Theft

March 9, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

During the summer months we sell a lot of chairs. Most of them are our patio and outdoor chairs. It is a great selling item to increase our daily ticket average. The downside is that these chairs come in bundled together, which makes it easy to sell improperly, and for internal theft to occur.

In fact, we just had a case of internal theft where the employee was ringing up only one chair, but a stack of four chairs were going out the door. They had figured that we would not notice what was going on because he was ringing something up on the register.

He also figured that if we did notice a shortage of chairs, he could say that he didn’t know and it was a mistake. To a certain extent, that was true. When we did notice the shortage, we first thought it was an operational error. Perhaps if we had trained the employee how to properly sell those chairs, we would have prevented that shortage.

As we continued researching the chair shortages (because there was more than one) we realized that this employee was actually letting more merchandise go out the door unpaid. The same “customer” came back for four more chairs, and some dishes, and some napkins, and some candles, all going out the door for the price of one chair.

We knew then that we needed to conduct a full employee theft investigation to resolve this employee theft case.

For more information on employee theft, employee theft investigation or internal theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase CCTV Systems that can help you stop Employee Theft and Internal Theft problems and help with your Employee Theft Investigation.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: employee theft, employee theft investigation, internal theft

Shoplifting Prevention

March 7, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

There are countless of on line sites that tell you what to do in a shoplifting situation. Do you know how to spot a shoplifter? Do you want to know how they behave at the store? They can give you a list of the so called facial expressions, activities, and so on about them when they are in your store. They can tell you the steps to take when you are confronting a shoplifter, the guides and law about detaining a shoplifter. When you are dealing with an amateur shoplifter, the protocol is different than with dealing with a professional group of shoplifters. A shoplifting prevention seminar could be a preventive solution for your business to take into consideration, it is not only advisable, but financially responsible. Read more shoplifting by following the links below.

Family Accused of Selling $4.2M Worth of Shoplifted Goods

Three members of a suburban Chicago family are accused of stealing $7 million in merchandise during a decade-long “shopping odyssey” and later selling the items on eBay.

Branko Bogdanov, 58; his wife Lela Bogdanov, 52; and their daughter Julia Bogdanov, 34, were arrested by Secret Service agents Tuesday afternoon at a home on Weller Lane in suburban Northbrook, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

The trio is accused in a recent string of thefts that began on Feb. 17 in Oklahoma, continued two days later at malls in Texas and wound through Louisiana Feb. 20. But officials allege the three are connected to similar instances that have occurred over the last 10 years, and have sold stolen property on eBay for a combined total of $4.2 million.

According to the complaint, loss prevention executives at Barnes and Noble, Inc. and Toys R Us, Inc. recently told Secret Service agents that their stores were experiencing a huge loss in merchandise, including American Girl dolls, Furby robotic toys, Lego blocks, baby monitors and baby carriers.

Teen Shoplifting: Minor Thrills, Major Punishment

Teenagers are fearless – they are more likely than any age group to drink and drive, try drugs, make radical changes to their style, or commit to something as permanent as a tattoo in a heartbeat. In their quest for adventure and adrenaline, they seem to stop at nothing. But recent studies indicate they are in no way less capable than adults to make rational decisions and acknowledge danger. So why are they behaving in such a reckless and irrational way?

A growing body of research suggests that teens are more sensitive to rewarding feedback than grownups, and that their brains can actually feel more pleasure from social acceptance than adult brains. As a result of peer pressure, teens may appear more confident in social interactions or feel motivated to study harder. At the same time, their peers can influence them to commit violent and even criminal acts, among which the most pressing is shoplifting.

When someone is caught stealing from a retailer, the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) is called in to handle court-mandated educational programs for the guilty party. Since the beginning of the housing market crash and the recession, the need for NASP programs has increased by 37%. In response to social anxiety and peer pressure, teens are swiping items from stores at alarming rates, and they’re not looking back.

Virginia’s Quik-E Foods Cuts Losses with March Networks Retail Video Surveillance Solution

March Networks^®, a global provider of intelligent IP video solutions, today announced that customer Quik-E Foods of Lynchburg, Virginia is upgrading to its next-generation retail solution for enhanced security and loss prevention. The March Networks solution integrates high-quality video, audio and transaction data to combat point-of-sale (POS) fraud and other threats to the business. The powerful solution has already helped Quik-E Foods improve operations and resolve serious incidents across its chain of 12 convenience stores and five automated car washes.

“We caught a cashier who was pausing transactions and then pocketing the money once customers left the store. The scam was adding up to more than $6,000 in losses,” explained Quik-E Foods Vice President Todd Burgess. “With the deep POS integration and search tools in our March Networks solution, those transactions showed up as voids, and we also had the video evidence to verify what was happening. There wasn’t a need to search for hours and hours. It was instant.”

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention

Another Employee Lost- Stop Shoplifting

March 7, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Last night we had another employee lost to temptation. They seemed to be so in tune to retail theft prevention. They were always quick to point the finger at potential shoplifters and other employees who were stealing.

It was unfortunate to discover that all of this finger pointing was just a smoke screen. He was stealing merchandise and had been for a very long time. Had it not been for our checkpoint security tags we may not have ever caught him.

He was smart enough to understand that if he simply bagged up merchandise, the EAS alarm would sound when the checkpoint security tags passed through the exit doors. So he made sure that he went to the register to deactivate all of the tags.

He also realized that if he was deactivating tags at the register, he needed it to look like he was helping a real customer. So he had friends come in to “check out”.

One day, he must have missed a tag because the alarm went off when the customer/ friend left. Later on when I reviewed the alarms and the receipts I realized that no actual sale took place. I researched more and found out just how many time he had been faking sales. Had it not been for the checkpoint security tags to stop shoplifting, we may not have ever found out his employee was stealing.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.

For more information on Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint Labels, a Checkpoint Security System, Checkpoint Security Tags, Checkpoint Systems, or Checkpoint Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to Stop Shoplifting in your store or call 1.770.426.0547

It was unfortunate to discover that all of this finger pointing was just a smoke screen. He was stealing merchandise and had been for a very long time. Had it not been for our Checkpoint security tags we may not have ever caught him.

He was smart enough to understand that if he simply bagged up merchandise, the EAS alarm would sound when the Checkpoint security tags passed through the exit doors. So he made sure that he went to the register to deactivate all of the tags.

He also realized that if he was deactivating tags at the register, he needed it to look like he was helping a real customer. So he had friends come in to “check out”.

One day, he must have missed a tag because the alarm went off when the customer/ friend left. Later on when I reviewed the alarms and the receipts I realized that no actual sale took place. I researched more and found out just how many time he had been faking sales. Had it not been for the Checkpoint security tags to stop shoplifting, we may not have ever found out his employee was stealing.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint labels, checkpoint security system, Checkpoint security tags, checkpoint systems, Checkpoint tags, retail theft prevention, stop shoplifting

Let Them Cave To Their Impulses – Security Tags on Clothes

March 5, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

This is probably the most common area that retailers are challenged with finding a balance. They need to balance the shopping habits and needs of their customers with the need for clothing security. It is not uncommon for retailers to use bulky cable and chain locks to secure entire fixtures of expensive clothes, like jackets or coats.

The problem is that these chain locks are often extremely sensitive and are prone to setting off the clothing alarm by very little movement of the product.

When your merchandise is tied up to the point that it is unshoppable to the average customers then your profits on those items are tied up as well. Literally. It has been proven over and over that when you eliminate access to your merchandise, sales go down.

A better solution is to replace the outdated chain and loop systems. Security tags on clothes have come a long way since these systems first came out. Now there are better solutions to protect outerwear items. You can use individual clothing security tags. They are less bulky and not as sensitive to movement. That means your customers can try them on as they are shopping. It turns the merchandise into more of an impulse purchase than a destination buy.

The problem is that these chain locks are often extremely sensitive and are prone to setting off the clothing alarm by very little movement of the product.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Checkpoint tags, clothing alarm, Clothing Security, clothing security tags, security tags on clothes

Employee Theft

March 4, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

The annual amount stolen from businesses by their employees is astounding. According to some reports the average amount of stolen goods by employees is around $175,000 and more than half of those crimes are committed by males. Small businesses are the hardest hit by these crimes, as profits trickled and they are left looking at losses they cannot afford to have.

Employee theft rarely reported by small business owners, poll suggests

More than half of small business owners in the country have experienced theft performed by one of their own workers. However, whether out of compassion for the wrongdoer or feeling the misconduct not being serious enough to alert the proper authorities, few wind up reporting the crime, according to a newly released survey.

Jay Kennedy, a recent MBA graduate from the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Linder College of Business, queried approximately 315 small business owners in Ohio’s third-largest city, asking entrepreneurs if they’d ever had someone working for them that stole money. Nearly 66% of respondents said that they had. However, when asked if they reported the crime, only 16% said that this was something they did to settle the matter.

“It’s important to look at this topic because such theft represents a loss to the tax base and would also seem to put such businesses at risk, and so, put our overall economy at risk,” said Kennedy. “After all, small businesses with 100 or fewer employees comprise 97% of all businesses in the United States.”

Approximately one-third of all bankruptcies that occur among small businesses stem from employee theft, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the report noted.

Understanding Why Employees Steal … And How to Stop It

Employee theft is a particularly big problem for small businesses.

Many small businesses have a serious problem on their hands: employees with sticky fingers.

A recent study by University of Cincinnati doctoral student Jay Kennedy revealed that 64 percent of small businesses have lost items to employee theft. Overall, the stolen goods ranged from cash to products sold by the business to tools and equipment.

Business News Daily recently reported on Kennedy’s findings, which highlighted that most employee thefts go unreported to police. Here, we follow up with Kennedy in an email interview to learn more about employee theft and why small businesses are susceptible to it.

Why do you think employee theft is so prevalent in small businesses?

I think it is a matter of opportunity. Small businesses have fewer employees, and these employees may have a wide range of responsibilities within the business. With this responsibility comes knowledge of oversight mechanisms in place at the business, as well as knowledge of suitable targets for theft. An employee who becomes motivated to engage in theft has access, knowledge of guardianship mechanisms and knowledge of the target that allow them to be more successful in their crimes than non-employee offenders would be.

Employee Theft: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Report It

Most small business owners don’t get the police involved when they catch an employee stealing from them, new research finds.

While 64 percent of small businesses have experienced employee theft, only 16 percent of those reported the incident to police, the study found.

“It’s important to look at this topic because such theft represents a loss to the tax base and would also seem to put such businesses at risk, and so, put our overall economy at risk,” said study author Jay Kennedy, a University of Cincinnati criminal justice doctoral student.

Kennedy found four main reasons why employers are hesitant to get the authorities involved.

No real victims: The business owner does not see the victimization as serious enough to warrant his or her time and trouble beyond firing the employee.
Attorney advises against it: The business owner seeks counsel from a third party, usually his or her attorney, who often advises that the employer’s costs in time and effort for a successful prosecution outweigh any likely benefits to the employer. For instance, one company went through all the time and steps for a successful prosecution of an employee who stole $200,000. “The employee was convicted, put on probation and ordered to make restitution at the rate of $50 per month,” Kennedy said. “In essence, the small business will never recoup the stolen funds.”

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: anti-thefts devices, Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, security devices